Reassurances
by StarESP4Cat
Summary: This is Sara's POV of what happened after Nick was taken to the hospital and the events that led up it.


Reassurances

Pairing: Nick and Sara, AKA Snickers

Spoilers: Grave Danger with a tiny hint of Committed

A/N: This story is a slight departure from the Snickers stories I usually write. Most of the ones I write continue as if that vile excuse for a human being Ecklie had never split team.

After Nick is rescued and taken to the hospital, Sara reflects on the events. This is her POV.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of CSI. If I did, it would be Ecklie in 'Grave Danger'.

The doctor said he would be fine physically, but psychologically is another story. I just wanted him be whole again. My husband is lying in that hospital bed, hooked on IVs that gave him hydration, nutrients and medication for the pain and to counteract the toxin from those damn fire ant bites. His breathing is back to normal thanks to the oxygen mask. The numerous bites he received from the fire ants were healing quite nicely and those pesky things also helped us save him. He had been heavily sedated for the past 24 hours so I couldn't talk to him for a while. He was also connected to machines that monitored his heartbeat and breathing. It just wasn't fair!

What did Nick do to deserve this? He didn't deserve to be drugged, kidnapped by some fucked up psycho, who was hell bent on revenge for his daughter's imprisonment, at a phony crime scene and buried alive in a plexi-glass coffin. He had been through a lot in his almost thirty-four years. He was molested at age nine by a last minute babysitter. In recent years, he's been stalked by a psychotic cable installer, became the prime suspect in Kristi Hopkins' murder and had a gun pulled on him twice. I wonder if this would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Sara, we'll stay with him for an hour or two," Jillian Stokes said. "You need to get something to eat. I won't have my daughter-in-law starve. Bill or I will come and get you when Nick wakes up."

"You also need to go out and get some fresh air, young lady," Judge Bill Stokes concurred. "Sara, you have been sitting here since they allowed him to have visitors. Give yourself a break. I know they won't allow you to go back to the crime lab for some time. However, sitting here for hours isn't going to help anyone!"

I nodded my head, took Nick's hand and kissed it. My in-laws were right, I needed to get out of that room for a little while. I wasn't very hungry, but grabbing a bite to eat would get my mind off what happened. I hugged them and left the room. When I got to the coffee shop, I sat down trying to replay the events that led up to this.

Nick and I went to work and our shifts were reunited. He was called to a crime scene and told me that we were going to continue our talk about trying to have a baby after work. When he failed to return to the lab, I got worried. I couldn't go home and didn't want to at all. I was getting worried, but I tried to keep a cool head. I called my in-laws and told them what happened and they took next flight from Dallas to Vegas. Everything after that was a blur and everyone in that lab was falling apart. I somehow managed to be strong for my husband, in-laws, colleagues and even Scumbag Ecklie. Yes, that vile piece of human waste was genuinely concerned for my sweet Nicky.

I went to the hospital's coffee shop and had a cup of chamomile tea and a triple chocolate brownie. I know it wasn't healthy, but I didn't give a shit when my husband almost died from getting buried alive and the toxins from the bites. He was also sleeping a sedative induced slumber. I wanted him to be awake and talking. I slowly drank my tea and ate the brownie. After I finished, I walk in the hospital's garden. Bill was right, I wasn't helping anyone just sitting in the room waiting for Nick to wake up. I sat on the bench taking in the fresh air and listening to the birds singing. The flowers had a delicate scent. I walked a while longer before heading back to Nick's room.

When I arrived at the floor his room was in, I saw Jillian and she approached me.

"Nick is awake and demanding to see you," she said with an assuring tone in her voice.

We entered the room. Bill saw me and gave me a hug. Nick saw me and gave me a very weak smile.

"Hey Sunshine, come here," Nick said in a weak and raspy voice.

"Nicky, we were worried sick about you," I said. "I didn't want to lose you!"

"Sara, I am here," he said taking my hand and squeezing it. "You found me and I am happy to be out of that damn coffin."

"Nick, there were a million things going around my head when I saw that webcam," I said. "I was afraid I would never see you again. I'll never sleep in the comfort and warmth of your arms again. We would never have the kids that we were talking about before this incident happened."

"I am alive and breathing," Nick said as his voice got a little stronger and less raspy. "We will have our children, I promise! It will probably take a little time, but we'll have them. The doctor came by and told me to see a therapist to talk about the ordeal. I am sure Catherine and Grissom will tell me the same thing. That damn son of a bitch Ecklie would demand that I take a leave of absence to recover. Being with you is recovery enough."

"You still have to talk with a therapist," I told him.

"Look who's talking!" Nick said with a slight laugh that became a somewhat violent cough.

I gave him a glass of water and he took several sips. He smiled at me implying that he felt better.

"What's that all about?" I asked.

"Nick, Sara, is there something we should know about?" Jillian inquired.

"I'll tell the story," I said wanting Nick to give his poor lungs a little rest. "A few weeks ago, Gil Grissom and I were investigating the murder of a patient in a mental institution. Grissom left me alone to process the scene for a brief moment and I was attacked by a patient who held me at knife point, but I fought back. Grissom tried to convince me to see a shrink, but I refused. I think now everyone needs to see one."

"Great, first my daughter-in-law nearly gets killed by a mental patient," Bill muttered. "Now my youngest child got kidnapped and buried alive."

Jillian, Nick and I looked at him. He wasn't angry, just observant of his Las Vegas family having close calls.

"Nick, as soon as you've recovered," Bill said. "I want you and Sara to take a vacation. I talked to Gil Grissom and he agreed to let the two of you take time off. You definitely need to get out of Las Vegas for awhile. What about a Caribbean cruise or a trip to Japan?"

Nick and I looked at each other and at his parents. We planned on going to Europe in a month, but now we weren't so sure if we're going or not. I am sure that if we tell them about, they'd push us to go whether Nick was physically, mentally and emotionally ready or not. We had a silent agreement not to tell them.

"I think we'll leave you kids alone," Jillian said. "Bill and I are going to talk with Gil, Catherine, Warrick, Greg and Jim."

"If Conrad Ecklie is there," Nick said in a pathetic attempt to lighten the somber mood. "Try to avoid him like the plague, he is an ass! Tell Grissom to tell that human cockroach from Hell to reunite the team!"

His parents left the room, both of them breathing a sigh of relief that Nick will be fine. I perched myself on his bed and he gingerly pulled me into an embrace. I saw the tears streaming down his cheek. One moment later, I choked up. This ordeal was too much for all of us, especially Nick.

"I love you, Sara," Nick sobbed. "Thank you for saving my life. I know I have a long road to fully recover."

"Nicky, I will be with you every step of the way," I told him in calm tone, but I started to sob. "We are going to get through this. I will soothe you if you wake up from a nightmare. I'll personally request that I get transferred to your shift or you could come back to mine. I love you so much and I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you forever."

We held on to each other for dear life and cried a lot. I didn't want to let go of him nor he me. We weren't aware that Warrick was there and by the time we did, he already left the room. I think he wanted us to be alone for awhile.

THE END


End file.
